Waterproof electrical cable

ABSTRACT

An electrical communications cable having a plurality of insulated conductors is made waterproof by filling the intersticial spaces with a heated mixture of 85 percent petroleum jelly and 15 percent low-density polyethylene and cooling the mixture.

United States Patent Inventors Merle C. Biskeborn Chatham; Joseph P. McCann, Colonla; Rallaele A. Sabin, Lincrolt, all 01 NJ.

Appl. No. 780,314

Filed Dec. 2, 1968 Patented Sept. 21, 1971 Assignee Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated Murray Hill, NJ.

WATERPROOF ELECTRICAL CABLE References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/ 1 888 Patterson 156/48 8/1941 Fogg 156/48 1/1961 Bollmeier et al.. 156/48 X 9/1967 Davis et a1. 156/48 X FOREIGN PATENTS 6/1965 Great Britain 174/1 16 12/1967 Great Britain 174/1 16 Primary ExaminerVerlin R. Pendegrass AttorneysR. .l. Guenther and Edwin B. Cave 8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 156/47,

156/48, 156/56 ABSTRACT: An electrical communications cable having 21 Int. Cl ..H0lbl3/06, plurality of insulated conductors is made waterproof by filling HOlb 13/22 the intersticial spaces with a heated mixture of 85 percent Field of Search 156/47, 48, petroleum jelly and percent low-density polyethylene and 56, 23; 174/116 cooling the mixture.

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7 E 80 5 lo u. c. BISKEBORN INVENTORS: J. P. NC CAN/V A TTORNZK 1 WATERPROOF ELECTRICAL CABLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to communications cables, particularly buried cables which are subject to influx of water, or to entry and condensation of water vapor. Such water might flow through the cable and degrade its electrical properties.

Water or water vapor often enters a cable through punctures in the cable's outer jacket. These punctures may be the result of lightning strokes or of initial defects incurred during production of laying of cable. In the past, water entry has been minimized by sheathing the cable interior with water and vapor barriers. Such barriers are expensive. Also, such barriers, once they are penetrated permit the entry of water which flows along the cable through interstices between the cables conductors, fills the cable, and deteriorates its electrical qualities. Such deterioration manifests itself as an increase in the capacitance between cable conductors and results in increased losses. In telephone communication cables such looses can seriously degrade the operating performance of a telephone system. Ultimately, the water in the cable may corrode the conductors so as to cause open circuits.

THE INVENTION According to a feature of the invention, these deficiencies are overcome by filling the intersticial spaces between the insulated conductors of a cable with a preheated heat-flowable, cool-viscous substance comprised of a mixture of petroleum jelly and a thennoplastic polymer having a high weight average molecular weight. Such a cable prevents both the ingress of water and its longitudinal flow in the cable. Preferably, the plastic polymer is one of a group consisting of crystalline polymers such as polyethylene, polybutene-, or polypropylene, having a weight average molecular weights greater than 20,000 and more specifically greater than 40,000.

According to another feature of the invention, the substance contains 75 to 90 percent petroleum jelly and 25 to 1 percent polymer plastic. According to one embodiment, the mixture is a combination of 85 percent petroleum jelly and 15 percent polyethylene.

According to still another feature of the invention, the mixture is heated to a flowing temperature and applied to the cables evident in this flowable form and then cooled rapidly. The flowing material stiffens into a highly viscous material of puttylike consistency that forms itself to surrounding conditions without flowing or oozing.

These, and other features of the invention, are pointed out in the claims. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become evident from the following detailed description when read in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 separate lengths of buried multieonductor telephone cables 10, joined at their ends by respective conductor-connecting cable splices l2, transmit voice and other messages from a telephone central office 14 to a subscriber station 16 above the ground 18. A pair 20 of the conductors from the cable carry the messages from the cable splice 12 to the subscriber station 16. The buried cable 10 is subject to penetration of water that exists below the ground 18. Any break in the cable 10, whether caused by lightning strokes, or

manufacturing tolerances, or laying defects, or other damage such as subsequent spade cuts may permit such penetration. If such penetration were permitted to go unchecked, the cable 10 as well as the splices 12, would become water-logged and the ability of the cable to transmit messages would be detrimentally affected by the high dielectric constant of the water introduced between the cable conductors. Ultimately, the water electrolytically corrode the wires and break them completely. The cable 10 substantially eliminates these problems.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the cable I0. Here, a plurality of copper or aluminum conductors 22, insulated with respective surrounding polypropylene insulation 24 and twisted to form pairs 20 carry the messages in the cable. According to another embodiment of the invention the insulation 24 is polyethylene. Filling the intersticial spaces between the insulations 24 on the individual conductors 22 is a previously heated and then cooled mixture of blend 28 of petroleum jelly and a crystalline olefine polymer having a weight average molecular weight greater than 20,000.

An example of a mixture such as 28 is percent petroleum jelly and 15 percent of .915 density polyethylene having a weight average molecular weight of 135,000.

The mixture 28 also fills the spaces between the conductor insulations 24 in the outer ring of insulated conductors 22 and a surrounding plastic core wrap 30. It wets all surfaces. A binder 32 holds the wrap 30 around the conductors 22 and mixture 28 so as to form a cable core 34 with them. The core wrap 30 and binder 32 are in turn covered on the outside with the mixture 28. A lightening protection aluminum shield 36 surrounds and embraces the shield 36. According to another embodiment of the invention the jacket is polypropylene. The shield 36 is covered inside and out with the mixture 28 so as to completely fill the intersticial spaces between the shield 36 and jacket 38 as well as between the shield 36 and the core 34. Essentially, the mixture 26 penetrates all spaces and wets all surfaces under the jacket 38 down to the insulation 24.

By virtue of the mixture 28 filling these spaces the cable 10 is protected from entry of water even if the cable were surrounded by water and the jacket 38 and the shield 36 punctured by lightning or by mechanical means. The shield 36, by intercepting and absorbing the lightning, prevents it from affecting the conductors 22. However, it is subject to having holes burned therein. Thus, water can penetrate beyond this shield. However, the water penetrates only so far as permitted by the mixture 28. It can travel neither radially nor longitudinally because the mixture 28 fills all interstices. Preferably, the mixture 28 also fills the splices 12.

The consistency of the mixture 28 is such as to prevent it from oozing, or being displaced and flowing, during handling. It has a puttylike consistency which is not sticky or greasy so that craftsmen can form splices by peeling away the jacket 38 and stripping the insulation 24 off the conductors 22. It is sufficiently puttylike so that it can be removed from around the insulated conductors 22 without instrument's.

The mixture 28 has a dielectric constant of 2.2 to 2.4 almost equal to the dielectric constant of the polypropylene insulation 24. Thus, by filling or replacing the air in the intersticial spaces, the mixture 28 tends to raise the average dielectric constant of the cable and hence increase the capacitance between conductors of a cable equally constructed with air in the spaces. However, this effect of increased capacitance can be overcome by increasing the diameter of the insulations 24 about the conductors 22 so that the conductors 22 are spaced further apart from each other. The average capacitance of the cable is thereby reduced to a predetermined quantity.

A cable such as cable I0 is manufactured as illustrated in FIG. 3. Here, a capstan 40, on the right, draws the finished cable 10 from a plurality of supply reels 42, on the left, which carry the individual insulated conductors 22 with their insulation 24. The reels 42 form part of a twister-strander 44 which begins the process by twisting the conductors 22 about each other into pairs 20 and by stranding the pairs. The pairs of insulated conductors emerge partially separated as they enter a flooding tank 415. A pump 46 pumps the mixture 28 into the tank 45 from a heater 47. In the flooding tank 45, the mixture 28 is applied to each one of the insulated conductors 22 as they twist about each other more closely. The twisting and stranding actions become complete as the conductors 22 pass through the flooding tank 45 into a wiping die 48 that compresses the hitherto slightly separated but mixture-covered insulated conductors 22 and squeezes and wipes excessive mixture off them as the pack of insulated conductors is moved.

A core wrapper 50 unreels core wrap material 52 and wraps it about the compacted insulated conductors 22. A binder 54 then secures the core wrap 30 about the conductors 22 by drawing the binder 32 from a reel 56. The entire procedure within the flooding tank 45, wiping die 48, core wrapper 50, and binder machine 52 takes place within 6 feet of the machine shown in FIG. 3 which is over 100 feet long.

After the binder 32 is applied, the thus formed core is cooled in a cooler 57. ln H6. 3 the cooler is embodied in a 24 foot travel interval through air during which the cable core is exposed to the air. This cools the heated mixture 28 which has arrived in the flooding tank 45 from the heater 47 at a temperature of 120 C. The cooling rate is approximately 60 C. per minute.

After cooling, the thus formed core 34 enters a second flooding tank 58 similar to the tank 45 wherein more hot mixture 28 arriving from the heater 47 floods the core wrap 30 and binder 32. A wiping die 60 removes excessive amount of mixture 28. A cooler 61, composed of a second air cooling interval, solidifies mixture 28. An aluminum former 62 reels a strip of shielding mixture 28. An aluminum former 62 reels a strip of shielding material 36 from a reel 64 and wraps it around the core 34 with the surrounding mixture 28 to form a longitudinal seam. A third flooding tank 66 receiving 28 from the heater 47 floods the shield-covered core with more of the mixture 28. A wiping die 68 removes excessive mixture 23 and compacts the aluminum shield 36 about the core 34.. An extruder 70 then forms the seamless polyethylene jacket 38 about the aluminum shield 36 with the still warm mixture 28. After a water cooling step in a cooling through 72 that allows both the extruded jacket 38 and the mixture 28 to cool, the capstan 80 passes the completed cable onto a takeup reel.

The machine of FIG. 3 may be modified to reel up the core 34 after it emerges from the cooler 61 onto a temporary reel and then unreel it in a second machine that applies the sheath composed of the shield 36 and jacket 38. This second machine then involves the aluminum former 62, the flooding tank 66, the die 68, the extrucler 70, and the cooling through 72.

The coolers 57 and 61, as well as the cooling trough 72, help give a mixture 28 which is not too tacky and too soft. in the case of the coolers 57 and 61 they may be embodied as air cooling during a 24 or 30 foot travel length at speeds of about 7 inches per minute at room temperature conditions. The water cooling trough 72 is necessary to cool both the extruded jacket 38 and the mixture 28.

Cables according to the invention are not limited to the use of polyethylene with the petroleum jelly. Other olefin polymers of high weight average molecular weight may be used. For example, any crystalline olefin polymer such as polypropylene or polybutene-l may be added to the petroleum jelly. The polymer acts to convert the characteristics of petroleum jelly. The use of large quantities of petroleum jelly in this environment are desirable because of its excellent electrical qualities, low cost, ready availability, and easy handling. The polymer is more costly but need be used only in small quantities.

The mixture 28 essentially retains the low cost of petroleum jelly and is a nongreasy pastelike material that does not flow except at temperatures well above any possible ambient temperatures. lt wets the conductor insulation well enough to prevent interfacial penetration of water. It is soft enough to adjust to the movement of the core conductors during handling at low or high temperatures without channeling and without causing appreciable stiffness of the cable. Addition of appropriate antioxidants in trace quantities such as .02 percent assures retention of these desired properties for many years. The high temperature flow point of the mixture 28 or 85 percent polyethylene and 15 percent petroleum jelly is considerably higher than that of petroleum jelly alone.

Preferably, the mixture 28 is composed of to 97percent petroleum jelly and 20 to 3 percent polymer plastic. However, the mixture may go from 75 to 99 percent petroleum jelly and 25 to 1 percent polymer plastic. In both these cases preferred results are achieved if the polymer plastic has high weight average molecular weights for high percentages of petroleum jelly and low weight average molecular weights for low percentages of petroleum jelly.

Preferably, when the plastic is polyethylene, the mixture 28 is composed of 80 to 97 percent petroleum jelly and 20 to 3 percent polyethylene. Preferably, the polyethylene has a weight average molecular weight higher than 100,000 when polyethylene comprises less than 14 percent ofthe mixture polyethylene between 17 and [0 percent having a weight average molecular weight between 60,000 and 150,000.

With polypropylene the preferred range of petroleum jelly is between 87 and 99 percent when the polypropylene has weight average molecular weights between 100,000 and 350,000. Lower molecular weights of polypropylene are desirable for higher percentages of this substance and higher molecular weights for lower percentages of this substance.

Most preferably, the polypropylene comprises 2 to l2 percent of the mixture. 7

The preferred molecular weights of polybutene l correspond to three to four times those of polyethylene for corresponding percentages. With copolymers, preferably the percentage of petroleum jelly is between 83 and 97 percent. A most preferred range of petroleum jelly is 87 to 93 percent. Higher and lower percentages of petroleum jelly make higher and lower weight average molecular weights preferable.

One specific example of mixture 28 is percent petroleum jelly and 15 percent polyethylene, available under the trade name of Petrothene NA250, having a weight average molecular weight of approximately.80,000 a melt index of 250 and density of .926. When these components are first introduced in the heater 47, the polyethylene arrives in the form in pellets. The mixture 28 then exhibits a dielectric constant about 2.24. According to another example, the mixture 28 is composed of 85 percent petroleum jelly and 15 polyethylene having a weight average molecular weight of l35,000 and a density of .926. In all these cases the polyethylene may be introduced into the heater 47 in the form of pellets or powder.

Still another example of the mixture 28. is 89 percent petroleum jelly and 11 percent polyethylene, originally introduced in the form of pellets, and having a weight'average molecular weight of 150,000 and a density of .926. Yet another example of the mixture 18 is 89 percent petroleum jelly and l l percent polybutene l, originally introduced in pel let form, having a weight average molecular weight of l30,000. The resulting blend furnishes an intersticial filling of pastelike consistency.

Still another example of the mixture 28 is 89 percent petroleum jelly and l 1 percent polypropylene having weight average molecular weight of 300,000 and a density of .905.

As another example of mixture 28, the latter may be composed of 85 petroleum jelly, 14 percent polyethylene having a density of .926 and a weight average molecular weight of 80,000, and a l percent high density polyethylene, density .960, having a weight average molecular weight of l43,000.

Another example of the mixture 28 is composed of 88 percent petroleum jelly, 8 percent polyethylene having a weight average molecular weight of 80,000, a melt index of 250, and a density of .926, and 4 percent polypropylene having a weight average molecular weight of 300,000 and a density of .905.

Other examples of the mixture 28 are ones wherein the latter are composed of 85 percent petroleum jelly and 15 percent polyethylene having any more of the respective weight average molecular weights of 88,000 60,000, 90,000 and l20,000, respective melt indices of 70, 250, 60 and 30, and respective densities of .913, .910, .923 and .923. These sub stances are available from the Union Carbide Corporation of New York, New York and Bound Brook, New Jersey under the designations of DFXD-3972, DFXD-3973, DFXD-4276 and DFXD-397 1.

Another example of the mixture 28 is one having 20 percent polyethylene with a density of .926 and a weight average molecular weight of 80,000 and 80 percent petroleum jelly. According to another example, the mixture 28 is composed of 3 percent polyethylene having 95 density and 140,000 weight average molecular weight with 97 percent petroleum jelly.

In all these cases the mixture 28 in the cable has a composition corresponding to that of the material in the heater 47.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for forming a cable system as shown in FIG. I with cable and splic'e cases 12. Here, the conductors l1 and insulation 24 are connected to similar conductors 22 with their insulation 24 in a second cable length 10 by means of connectors 80. A heater 82 heats the components of the mixture 28 such as that suitable for the cable 10 beyond the softening point of the polymer therein. A pump 84 or manual device transfers the heated mixture to the conductors so as to fill the interstices between the conductors 22, and the connectors 80. Preferably, the mixture is applied slowly so as to allow for rapid cooling before the new mixture is applied. When all the intersticial spaces have been filled, a binder 86 is supplied about the conductors and connectors to compress them and more mixture applied to the outside of the binder. A splice case 88 is then secured onto the cables 10 and the connectors 80 to form a splice 12. The pump 84 them pumps additional amounts of the substance from the heater 82 onto the remaining intersticial spaces of the splice case 88. A water spray may then be supplied outside the splice case 88 to cool the substance.

While embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention may be otherwise embodied within its spirit and scope.

What is claimed is:

1. In the manufacture of multipair telephone cable having conductors insulated with a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene, the steps comprising:

applying a mixture comprising 83 to 90 percent petroleum jelly with 17 to 10 percent polyethylene around pairs of said insulated conductors, said polyethylene in said mixture having a weight average molecular weight between 60,000 and 150,000 and a density greater than .910, said mixture being at a temperature above its melting point but substantially below the melting point of said insulative material; and

gathering said pairs together while enveloped with said mixture.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said applying step occurs when said conductors are mutually separated, and comprising the further step of cooling the mixture surrounding said strand at a rate of substantially 60 C. per minute.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said insulative material is polypropylene and said applying step occurs while said pairs are being twisted and stranded.

4. The method of claim 3 comprising the further steps of forming a binder about the gathered conductors, applying additional mixture around the binder, applying a core wrap around the binder, applying additional mixture around the core wrap, applying on outer jacket around said last-named additional mixture, and water cooling the thus-formed cable, whereby all interstitial spaces within said outer jacket are filled with said mixture.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said mixture is 85 percent etroleum 'ell and I5 ercent ol eth lene of a melt index 8f 250, a en ity of .92 6 p y y weight sufficiently high to render said polyethylene amenable to powder or pellet form.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said mixture has a dielectric constant substantially equal to the dielectric constant of said polypropylene insulation.

7. In the manufacture of multipair telephone cable having conductors insulated with a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene, the steps comprising:

applying a mixture comprising to 97 percent petroleum jelly with 20 to 3 percent polyethylene around pairs of said insulated conductors, said polyethylene having a weight average molecular weight of at least 40,000 and said mixture being heated to a temperature above its melting point but below that of said insulative material; and

gathering said pairs together while enveloped with said mixture.

8. In the manufacture of multipair telephone cable having conductors insulated with a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene, the steps comprising:

applying a mixture comprising 87 to 99 percent petroleum jelly and 13 to 1 percent polypropylene around pairs of said insulated conductors, sand polypropylene in said mixture having a weight average molecular weight between 100,000 and 350,000, said mixture being at a temperature above its melting point but below that on said conductor insulation; and gathering said pairs together while enveloped with said mixture.

and a weighted average molecular 

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said applying step occurs when said conductors are mutually separated, and comprising the further step of cooling the mixture surrounding said strand at a rate of substantially 60* C. per minute.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said insulative material is polypropylene and said applying step occurs while said pairs are being twisted and stranded.
 4. The method of claim 3 comprising the further steps of forming a binder about the gathered conductors, applying additional mixture around the binder, applying a core wrap around the binder, applying additional mixture around the core wrap, applying on outer jacket around said last-named additional mixture, and water cooling the thus-formed cable, whereby all interstitial spaces within said outer jacket are filled with said mixture.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said mixture is 85 percent petroleum jelly, and 15 percent polyethylene of a melt index of 250, a density of .926 and a weighted average molecular weight sufficiently high to render said polyethylene amenable to powder or pellet form.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said mixture has a dielectric constant substantially equal to the dielectric constant of said polypropylene insulation.
 7. In the manufacture of multipair telephone cable having conductors insulated with a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene, the steps comprising: applying a mixture comprising 80 to 97 percent petroleum jelly with 20 to 3 percent polyethylene around pairs of said insulated conductors, said polyethylene having a weight average molecular weight of at least 40,000 and said mixture being heated to a temperature above its melting point but below that of said insulative material; and gathering said pairs together while enveloped with said mixture.
 8. In the manufacture of multipair telephone cable having conductors insulated with a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene, the steps comprising: applying a mixture comprising 87 to 99 percent petroleum jelly and 13 to 1 percent polypropylene around pairs of said insulated conductors, sand polypropylene in said mixture having a weight average molecular weight between 100,000 and 350,000, said mixture beiNg at a temperature above its melting point but below that on said conductor insulation; and gathering said pairs together while enveloped with said mixture. 